Search

The photoexcitation life cycle from incident photon (and creation of photoexcited electron–hole pair) to ultimate extraction of electrical current is a complex multiphysics process spanning across a range of spatiotemporal scales of quantum materials. Photocurrent is sensitive to a myriad of physical processes across these spatiotemporal scales, and over the past decade it has emerged as a versatile probe of electronic states, Bloch band quantum geometry, quantum kinetic processes and device characteristics of quantum materials. This Technical Review outlines the key multiphysics principles of photocurrent diagnostics, for resolving band structure and characterizing topological materials, for disentangling distinct types of carrier scattering that can range from femtosecond to nanosecond timescales and for enabling new types of remote-sensing protocols and photocurrent nanoscopy. These distinctive capabilities underscore photocurrent diagnostics as a novel multiphysics probe for a growing class of quantum materials with properties governed by physics spanning multiple spatiotemporal scales. Ministry of Education (MOE) Q.M. was supported through NSF Career DMR-2143426 and the CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars programme. R.K.K. acknowledges the EU Horizon 2020 programme under the MarieSkłodowska-Curie grant numbers 754510 and 893030. S.-Y.X. was supported through NSF Career (Harvard fund 129522) DMR-2143177. F.H.L.K. acknowledges support from the ERC TOPONANOP (726001), the Government of Spain (PID2019-106875GB-I00; Severo Ochoa CEX2019-000910-S (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033)), Fundació Cellex, Fundació Mir-Puig and Generalitat de Catalunya (CERCA, AGAUR, SGR 1656). Furthermore, the research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 under grant agreement numbers 881603 (Graphene flagship Core3) and 820378 (Quantum flagship). J.C.W.S. acknowledges support from the Singapore MOE Academic Research Fund Tier 3 Grant number MOE2018-T3-1-002.

Using circularly-polarized light to control quantum matter is a highly intriguing topic in physics, chemistry and biology. Previous studies have demonstrated helicity-dependent optical control of spatial chirality and magnetization $M$. The former is central for asymmetric synthesis in chemistry and homochirality in bio-molecules, while the latter is of great interest for ferromagnetic spintronics. In this paper, we report the surprising observation of helicity-dependent optical control of fully-compensated antiferromagnetic (AFM) order in 2D even-layered MnBi$_2$Te$_4$, a topological Axion insulator with neither chirality nor $M$. We further demonstrate helicity-dependent optical creation of AFM domain walls by double induction beams and the direct reversal of AFM domains by ultrafast pulses. The control and reversal of AFM domains and domain walls by light helicity have never been achieved in any fully-compensated AFM. To understand this optical control, we study a novel type of circular dichroism (CD) proportional to the AFM order, which only appears in reflection but is absent in transmission. We show that the optical control and CD both arise from the optical Axion electrodynamics, which can be visualized as a Berry curvature real space dipole. Our Axion induction provides the possibility to optically control a family of $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric AFMs such as Cr$_2$O$_3$, CrI$_3$ and possibly novel states in cuprates. In MnBi$_2$Te$_4$, this further opens the door for optical writing of dissipationless circuit formed by topological edge states.

The observation of chirality is ubiquitous in nature. Contrary to intuition, the population of opposite chiralities is surprisingly asymmetric at fundamental levels. Examples range from parity violation in the subatomic weak force to the homochirality in essential biomolecules. The ability to achieve chirality-selective synthesis (chiral induction) is of great importance in stereochemistry, molecular biology and pharmacology. In condensed matter physics, a crystalline electronic system is geometrically chiral when it lacks any mirror plane, space inversion center or roto-inversion axis. Typically, the geometrical chirality is predefined by a material's chiral lattice structure, which is fixed upon the formation of the crystal. By contrast, a particularly unconventional scenario is the gyrotropic order, where chirality spontaneously emerges across a phase transition as the electron system breaks the relevant symmetries of an originally achiral lattice. Such a gyrotropic order, proposed as the quantum analogue of the cholesteric liquid crystals, has attracted significant interest. However, to date, a clear observation and manipulation of the gyrotropic order remain challenging. We report the realization of optical chiral induction and the observation of a gyrotropically ordered phase in the transition-metal dichalcogenide semimetal $1T$-TiSe$_2$. We show that shining mid-infrared circularly polarized light near the critical temperature leads to the preferential formation of one chiral domain. As a result, we are able to observe an out-of-plane circular photogalvanic current, whose direction depends on the optical induction. Our study provides compelling evidence for the spontaneous emergence of chirality in the correlated semimetal TiSe$_2$. Such chiral induction provides a new way of optical control over novel orders in quantum materials.

Weyl semimetal (WSM), a novel state of quantum matter, hosts Weyl fermions as emergent quasiparticles resulting from the breaking of either inversion or time-reversal symmetry. Magnetic WSMs that arise from broken time-reversal symmetry provide an exceptional platform to understand the interplay between magnetic order and Weyl physics, but few WSMs have been realized. Here, we identify CeAlSi as a new non-centrosymmetric magnetic WSM via angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and first-principles, density-functional theory based calculations. Our surface-sensitive vacuum ultraviolet ARPES data confirms the presence of surface Fermi arcs as, the smoking gun evidence for the existence of the Weyl semimetallic state in CeAlSi. We also observe bulk Weyl cones in CeAlSi using bulk-sensitive soft-X-ray ARPES measurements. In addition, Ce 4f at bands are found near the Fermi level, indicating that CeAlSi is a unique platform for investigating exotic quantum phenomena resulting from the interaction of topology, magnetism and electronic correlations., Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures; supplementary information included

The proximity-coupling of a chiral non-collinear antiferromagnet (AFM)1–5 with a singlet superconductor allows spin-unpolarized singlet Cooper pairs to be converted into spin-polarized triplet pairs6–8, thereby enabling non-dissipative, long-range spin correlations9–14. The mechanism of this conversion derives from fictitious magnetic fields that are created by a non-zero Berry phase15 in AFMs with non-collinear atomic-scale spin arrangements1–5. Here we report long-ranged lateral Josephson supercurrents through an epitaxial thin film of the triangular chiral AFM Mn3Ge (refs. 3–5). The Josephson supercurrents in this chiral AFM decay by approximately one to two orders of magnitude slower than would be expected for singlet pair correlations9–14 and their response to an external magnetic field reflects a clear spatial quantum interference. Given the long-range supercurrents present in both single- and mixed-phase Mn3Ge, but absent in a collinear AFM IrMn16, our results pave a way for the topological generation of spin-polarized triplet pairs6–8 via Berry phase engineering15 of the chiral AFMs., Long-range lateral Josephson supercurrents are observed in a chiral non-collinear antiferromagnet, indicating topologically generated triplet pairing states.

This study analyzed the seasonal variation, sources, and source-specific health risks of PM

While ferromagnets have been known and exploited for millennia, antiferromagnets (AFMs) were only discovered in the 1930s. The elusive nature indicates AFMs' unique properties: At large scale, due to the absence of global magnetization, AFMs may appear to behave like any non-magnetic material; However, such a seemingly mundane macroscopic magnetic property is highly nontrivial at microscopic level, where opposite spin alignment within the AFM unit cell forms a rich internal structure. In topological AFMs, such an internal structure leads to a new possibility, where topology and Berry phase can acquire distinct spatial textures. Here, we study this exciting possibility in an AFM Axion insulator, even-layered MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ flakes, where spatial degrees of freedom correspond to different layers. Remarkably, we report the observation of a new type of Hall effect, the layer Hall effect, where electrons from the top and bottom layers spontaneously deflect in opposite directions. Specifically, under no net electric field, even-layered MnBi$_2$Te$_4$ shows no anomalous Hall effect (AHE); However, applying an electric field isolates the response from one layer and leads to the surprising emergence of a large layer-polarized AHE (~50%$\frac{e^2}{h}$). Such a layer Hall effect uncovers a highly rare layer-locked Berry curvature, which serves as a unique character of the space-time $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric AFM topological insulator state. Moreover, we found that the layer-locked Berry curvature can be manipulated by the Axion field, E$\cdot$B, which drives the system between the opposite AFM states. Our results achieve previously unavailable pathways to detect and manipulate the rich internal spatial structure of fully-compensated topological AFMs. The layer-locked Berry curvature represents a first step towards spatial engineering of Berry phase, such as through layer-specific moir\'e potential., Comment: A revised version of this article is published in Nature

Three-dimensional (3D) topological semimetals represent a new class of topological matters. The study of this family of materials has been at the frontiers of condensed matter physics, and many breakthroughs have been made. Several topological semimetal phases, including Dirac semimetals (DSMs), Weyl semimetals (WSMs), nodal-line semimetals (NLSMs), and triple-point semimetals, have been theoretically predicted and experimentally demonstrated. The low-energy excitation around the Dirac/Weyl nodal points, nodal line, or triply degenerated nodal point can be viewed as emergent relativistic fermions. Experimental studies have shown that relativistic fermions can result in a rich variety of exotic transport properties, e.g., extremely large magnetoresistance, the chiral anomaly, and the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect. In this review, we first briefly introduce band structural characteristics of each topological semimetal phase, then review the current studies on quantum oscillations and exotic transport properties of various topological semimetals, and finally provide a perspective of this area.

Significance We uncover the presence of a new topological crystalline insulator (TCI) state in bismuth, which is protected by a twofold rotational symmetry. In contrast to the recently discovered higher-order topological phase in bismuth, the present TCI phase hosts unpinned Dirac cone surface states that could be accessed directly through photoemission experiments. Our study provides a comprehensive understanding of the rich topological electronic structure of bismuth., Bismuth-based materials have been instrumental in the development of topological physics, even though bulk bismuth itself has been long thought to be topologically trivial. A recent study has, however, shown that bismuth is in fact a higher-order topological insulator featuring one-dimensional (1D) topological hinge states protected by threefold rotational and inversion symmetries. In this paper, we uncover another hidden facet of the band topology of bismuth by showing that bismuth is also a first-order topological crystalline insulator protected by a twofold rotational symmetry. As a result, its (11¯0) surface exhibits a pair of gapless Dirac surface states. Remarkably, these surface Dirac cones are “unpinned” in the sense that they are not restricted to locate at specific k points in the (11¯0) surface Brillouin zone. These unpinned 2D Dirac surface states could be probed directly via various spectroscopic techniques. Our analysis also reveals the presence of a distinct, previously uncharacterized set of 1D topological hinge states protected by the twofold rotational symmetry. Our study thus provides a comprehensive understanding of the topological band structure of bismuth.

Traditionally topological phase transition describes an evolution from topological trivial to topological nontrivial state. Originated from the non-symmorphic crystalline symmetry, we propose in this work an unconventional topological phase transition scheme between two topological nontrivial insulating states mediated by a Dirac gapless state, differing from the traditional topological phase transition. The KHgX (X = As, Sb, Bi) family is the first experimentally realized topological non-symmorphic crystalline insulator (TNCI), where the topological surface states are characterized by the Mobius-twisted connectivity. Based on first-principles calculations, we present a topological insulator–metal transition from TNCI into a Dirac semimetal (DSM) via applying an external pressure on KHgX. We find an unusual mirror Chern number Cm = −3 for the DSM phase of KHgX in the non-symmorphic crystal structure, which is topologically distinct from the traditional DSM such as Na3Bi and Cd3As2. Furthermore, we predict a new TNCI phase in KHgX via symmetry breaking. The topological surface states in this new TNCI phase display zigzag connectivity, different from the unstressed one. Our results offer a comprehensive study for understanding how the topological surface states evolve from a quantum phase transition in non-symmorphic system.

Quantum materials hosting Weyl fermions have opened a new era of research in condensed matter physics. First proposed in 1929 in particle physics, Weyl fermions have yet to be observed as elementary particles. In 2015, Weyl fermions were detected as collective electronic excitations in the strong spin-orbit coupled material tantalum arsenide, TaAs. This discovery was followed by a flurry of experimental and theoretical explorations of Weyl phenomena in materials. Weyl materials naturally lend themselves to the exploration of the topological index associated with Weyl fermions and their divergent Berry curvature field, as well as the topological bulk-boundary correspondence giving rise to protected conducting surface states. Here, we review the broader class of Weyl topological phenomena in materials, starting with the observation of emergent Weyl fermions in the bulk and of Fermi arc states on the surface of the TaAs family of crystals by photoemission spectroscopy. We then discuss some of the exotic optical and magnetic responses observed in these materials, as well as the progress in developing some of the related chiral materials. We discuss the conceptual development of high-fold chiral fermions, which generalize Weyl fermions, and we review the observation of high-fold chiral fermion phases by taking the rhodium silicide, RhSi, family of crystals as a prime example. Lastly, we discuss recent advances in Weyl-line phases in magnetic topological materials. With this Review, we aim to provide an introduction to the basic concepts underlying Weyl physics in condensed matter, and to representative materials and their electronic structures and topology as revealed by spectroscopic studies. We hope this work serves as a guide for future theoretical and experimental explorations of chiral fermions and related topological quantum systems with potentially enhanced functionalities., To appear in Nature Review Materials

Metal–insulator transition (MIT) is one of the most conspicuous phenomena in correlated electron systems. However such a transition has rarely been induced by an external magnetic field as the field scale is normally too small compared with the charge gap. We present the observation of a magnetic-field-driven MIT in a magnetic semiconductor β-EuP3. Concomitantly, we find a colossal magnetoresistance in an extreme way: the resistance drops billionfold at 2K in a magnetic field less than 3T. We ascribe this striking MIT as a field-driven transition from an antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic insulator to a spin-polarized topological semimetal, in which the spin configuration of Eu2+ cations and spin-orbital coupling play a crucial role. As a phosphorene-bearing compound whose electrical properties can be controlled by the application of field, β-EuP3 may serve as a tantalizing material in the basic research and even future electronics.

The interplay between topology and magnetism is essential for realizing novel topological states including the axion insulator, the magnetic Weyl semimetal, etc. An intrinsically ferromagnetic topological material with only the topological bands at the charge neutrality energy has so far remained elusive. By rationally designing the natural heterostructure consisting of [MnBi2Te4] septuple layers and [Bi2Te3] quintuple layers, we report MnBi8Te13 as the first intrinsic ferromagnetic topological material with clean low-energy band structure. Based on the thermodynamic, transport and neutron diffraction measurements, our data show that despite the adjacent [MnBi2Te4] being 44.1 {\AA} apart, MnBi8Te13 manifests long-range ferromagnetism below 10.5 K with strong coupling between magnetism and charge carriers. Our first-principles calculations and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements further demonstrate that MnBi8Te13 is an intrinsic ferromagnetic axion state. Therefore, MnBi8Te13 serves as an ideal system to investigate rich emergent phenomena, including the quantized anomalous Hall effect and quantized topological magnetoelectric effect., Comment: 6 figs

Characterized by the absence of inversion symmetry, non-centrosymmetric materials are of great interest because they exhibit ferroelectricity, second harmonic generation, emergent Weyl fermions, and other fascinating phenomena. It is expected that if time-reversal symmetry is also broken, additional magneto-electric effects can emerge from the interplay between magnetism and electronic order. Here we report topological conducting properties in the non-centrosymmetric magnet PrAlGe. By photoemission spectroscopy, we observe an arc parametrizing surface-localized states---a topological arc. Using the bulk-boundary correspondence, we conclude that these arcs correspond to projected topological charges of $\pm{1}$ in the surface Brillouin zone, demonstrating the presence of magnetic Weyl quasiparticles in bulk. We further observe a large anomalous Hall response, arising from diverging bulk Berry curvature fields associated with the magnetic Weyl band structure. Our results demonstrate a topological phase with robust electronic surface states and anomalous transport in a non-centrosymmetric magnet for the first time, providing a novel material platform to study the interplay between magnetic order, band topology and transport., Comment: To appear in Nature Communications (2020)

The constituent particles of matter can arrange themselves in various ways, giving rise to emergent phenomena that can be surprisingly rich and often cannot be understood by studying only the individual constituents. Discovering and understanding the emergence of such phenomena in quantum materials-especially those in which multiple degrees of freedom or energy scales are delicately balanced-is of fundamental interest to condensed-matter research1,2. Here we report on the surprising observation of emergent ferroelectricity in graphene-based moire heterostructures. Ferroelectric materials show electrically switchable electric dipoles, which are usually formed by spatial separation between the average centres of positive and negative charge within the unit cell. On this basis, it is difficult to imagine graphene-a material composed of only carbon atoms-exhibiting ferroelectricity3. However, in this work we realize switchable ferroelectricity in Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene sandwiched between two hexagonal boron nitride layers. By introducing a moire superlattice potential (via aligning bilayer graphene with the top and/or bottom boron nitride crystals), we observe prominent and robust hysteretic behaviour of the graphene resistance with an externally applied out-of-plane displacement field. Our systematic transport measurements reveal a rich and striking response as a function of displacement field and electron filling, and beyond the framework of conventional ferroelectrics. We further directly probe the ferroelectric polarization through a non-local monolayer graphene sensor. Our results suggest an unconventional, odd-parity electronic ordering in the bilayer graphene/boron nitride moire system. This emergent moire ferroelectricity may enable ultrafast, programmable and atomically thin carbon-based memory devices.

Topological matter is known to exhibit unconventional surface states and anomalous transport owing to unusual bulk electronic topology. In this study, we use photoemission spectroscopy and quantum transport to elucidate the topology of the room temperature magnet Co$_2$MnGa. We observe sharp bulk Weyl fermion line dispersions indicative of nontrivial topological invariants present in the magnetic phase. On the surface of the magnet, we observe electronic wave functions that take the form of drumheads, enabling us to directly visualize the crucial components of the bulk-boundary topological correspondence. By considering the Berry curvature field associated with the observed topological Weyl fermion lines, we quantitatively account for the giant anomalous Hall response observed in our samples. Our experimental results suggest a rich interplay of strongly correlated electrons and topology in this quantum magnet., Incorporates arXiv:1712.09992, with additional data, analysis and discussion

Engineering quantum crystals realizes high-frequency rectifiers by rational material design., Rectification is a process that converts electromagnetic fields into a direct current. Such a process underlies a wide range of technologies such as wireless communication, wireless charging, energy harvesting, and infrared detection. Existing rectifiers are mostly based on semiconductor diodes, with limited applicability to small-voltage or high-frequency inputs. Here, we present an alternative approach to current rectification that uses the intrinsic electronic properties of quantum crystals without using semiconductor junctions. We identify a previously unknown mechanism for rectification from skew scattering due to the inherent chirality of itinerant electrons in time-reversal invariant but inversion-breaking materials. Our calculations reveal large, tunable rectification effects in graphene multilayers and transition metal dichalcogenides. Our work demonstrates the possibility of realizing high-frequency rectifiers by rational material design and quantum wave function engineering.

The nonlinear optical responses from topological semimetals are crucial in both understanding the fundamental properties of quantum materials and designing next-generation light sensors or solar cells. However, previous work focused on the optical effects from bulk states only, disregarding the responses from topological surface states. In this Letter, we propose a new surface-only photocurrent response from chiral Fermi arcs. Using the ideal topological chiral semimetal RhSi as a representative, we quantitatively compute the photogalvanic currents from Fermi arcs on different surfaces. By rigorous crystal symmetry analysis, we demonstrate that Fermi arc photogalvanic currents can be perpendicular to the bulk injection currents regardless of the choice of materials surface. We then generalize this finding to other cubic chiral space groups and predict material candidates. Our theory reveals a powerful notion where common crystalline symmetry can be used to completely disentangle bulk and surface optical responses in many conducting material families.

Three types of fermions have been extensively studied in topological quantum materials: Dirac, Weyl, and Majorana fermions. Beyond the fundamental fermions in high energy physics, exotic fermions are allowed in condensed matter systems residing in three-, six- or eightfold degenerate band crossings. Here, we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to directly visualize three-doubly-degenerate bands in $\mathrm{PdS}{\mathrm{b}}_{2}$. The ultrahigh energy resolution we are able to achieve allows for the confirmation of all the sixfold degenerate bands at the $R$ point, in remarkable consistency with first-principles calculations. Moreover, we find that this sixfold degenerate crossing has quadratic dispersion as predicted by theory. Finally, we compare sixfold degenerate fermions with previously confirmed fermions to demonstrate the importance of this work: our study indicates a topological fermion beyond the constraints of high energy physics.

Chiral crystals are materials whose lattice structure has a well-defined handedness due to the lack of inversion, mirror, or other roto-inversion symmetries. These crystals represent a broad, important class of quantum materials; their structural chirality has been found to allow for a wide range of phenomena in condensed matter physics, including skyrmions in chiral magnets, unconventional pairing in chiral superconductors, nonlocal transport and unique magnetoelectric effects in chiral metals, as well as enantioselective photoresponse. Nevertheless, while these phenomena have been intensely investigated, the topological electronic properties of chiral crystals have still remained largely uncharacterized. While recent theoretical advances have shown that the presence of crystalline symmetries can protect novel band crossings in 2D and 3D systems, we present a new class of Weyl fermions enforced by the absence of particular crystal symmetries. These "Kramers-Weyl" fermions are a universal topological electronic property of all nonmagnetic chiral crystals with spin-orbit coupling (SOC); they are guaranteed by lattice translation, structural chirality, and time-reversal symmetry, and unlike conventional Weyl fermions, appear at time-reversal-invariant momenta (TRIMs). We cement this finding by identifying representative chiral materials in the majority of the 65 chiral space groups in which Kramers-Weyl fermions are relevant to low-energy physics. By combining our analysis with the results of previous works, we determine that all point-like nodal degeneracies in nonmagnetic chiral crystals with relevant SOC carry nontrivial Chern numbers. We further show that, beyond the previous phenomena allowed by structural chirality, Kramers-Weyl fermions enable unusual phenomena, such as a novel electron spin texture, chiral bulk Fermi surfaces over large energy windows., Comment: Main text + Supplementary Material. Material predictions added. Extended theoretical analysis using band representation theory as well as possible signatures of Kramers-Weyl fermions. Title and author list updated

Weyl semimetals are conductors whose low-energy bulk excitations are Weyl fermions, whereas their surfaces possess metallic Fermi arc surface states. These Fermi arc surface states are protected by a topological invariant associated with the bulk electronic wavefunctions of the material. Recently, it has been shown that the TaAs and NbAs classes of materials harbor such a state of topological matter. We review the basic phenomena and experimental history of the discovery of the first Weyl semimetals, starting with the observation of topological Fermi arcs and Weyl nodes in TaAs and NbAs by angle and spin-resolved surface and bulk sensitive photoemission spectroscopy and continuing through magnetotransport measurements reporting the Adler-Bell-Jackiw chiral anomaly. We hope that this article provides a useful introduction to the theory of Weyl semimetals, a summary of recent experimental discoveries, and a guideline to future directions., Review on the discovery of Weyl semimetals, with an emphasis on the experimental history and study of the TaAs family by ARPES, to appear in Ann. Rev. of Cond. Mat. Phys., Vol. 8, March 2017

We studied the magnetoresistivity and the Hall effect of the type-I Weyl semimetal TaAs to address the controversy surrounding its anomalous transport properties in relation to its bulk topological character. For fields and currents along the basal plane, we observe a very pronounced planar Hall effect (PHE) upon field rotation with respect to the crystallographic axes at temperatures as high as $T=100\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. Parametric plots of the PHE signal as a function of the longitudinal magnetoresistivity (LMR) collected at $T=10\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$ lead to concentric traces as reported for ${\mathrm{Na}}_{3}\mathrm{Bi}$ and GdBiPt. This would suggest that the negative LMR and the PHE observed in TaAs are intrinsically associated with the axial anomaly among its Weyl nodes. For fields nearly along the $a$ axis we observe hysteresis as one surpasses the quantum limit, where the magnetic torque indicates a change in regime as the field increases, i.e., from paramagnetism and diamagnetism due to Weyl fermions above and below the Weyl node(s), respectively, to a paramagnetic one associated with the field-independent $n=0$ Landau level. Hysteresis coupled to the overall behavior of the torque would be consistent with a topological phase transition associated with the suppression of the Weyl dispersion at the quantum limit. This transition leads to the suppression of the negative LMR confirming that it is intrinsically associated with the Weyl dispersion. The Hall effect for fields along the $c$ axis reveals two successive changes in slope, or two successive decrements in carrier mobility, one at the quantum limit and a second one at the critical field where a phase transition toward an insulating state was recently reported. This suggests the possibility of two successive phase transitions as function of the field with the higher-field one involving solely the $n=0$ Landau level. Finally, for both field orientations we observe Shubnikov--de Haas like oscillations beyond the quantum limit hence involving quasiparticles at fractional filling factors.

Rotational-symmetry-protected topological crystalline insulators (TCIs) are expected to host unique boundary modes, in that the surface normal to the rotational axis can feature surface states with ‘unpinned’ Dirac points, which are not constrained to lie on high symmetry points or lines, but can lie at any general k point in the Brillouin zone. Also, as a higher order bulk boundary correspondence is involved here, a three-dimensional (3D) TCI can support one-dimensional (1D) helical edge states. Using first-principles band structure calculations, we identify the van der Waals material -Bi4Br4 as a purely rotation symmetry protected TCI. We show that the surface of Bi4Br4 exhibits a pair of unpinned topological Dirac fermions which are related to the presence of a two-fold rotation axis. These unpinned Dirac fermions possess an exotic spin texture which will be highly favorable for spin transport, and a band structure that consists of van Hove singularities due to a Lifshitz transition. We also identify 1D topological hinge states along the edges of an -Bi4Br4 rod. We comment on how the predicted topological features in -Bi4Br4 could be accessed experimentally.

A nucleon-nucleus dynamics model was developed to investigate the proton-, neutron-, and deuteron-induced reactions at hundreds of MeV/nucleon. In this model, the trajectory of incident nucleon is described by classical mechanics, and the probability of reaction between the nucleon and nucleus is calculated by exponential damping. It is shown that the total reaction cross sections calculated by the model agree in general with the predictions by the CDCC and the experimental data. The model was applied to investigate the nucleon stripping in deuteron-induced reactions and its symmetry energy dependence.

We report on the fabrication of a two-dimensional topological insulator Bi(111) bilayer on Sb nanofilms via a sequential molecular beam epitaxy growth technique. Our angle-resolved photoemission measurements demonstrate the evolution of the electronic band structure of the heterostructure as a function of the film thickness and reveal the existence of a two-dimensional spinful massless electron gas within the top Bi bilayer. Interestingly, our first-principles calculation extrapolating the observed band structure shows that, by tuning down the thickness of the supporting Sb films into the quantum dimension regime, a pair of isolated topological edge states emerges in a partial energy gap at 0.32 eV above the Fermi level as a consequence of quantum confinement effect. Our results and methodology of fabricating nanoscale heterostructures establish the Bi bilayer/Sb heterostructure as a platform of great potential for both ultra-low-energy-cost electronics and surface-based spintronics.

Weyl semimetals have attracted worldwide attention due to their wide range of exotic properties predicted in theories. The experimental realization had remained elusive for a long time despite much effort. Very recently, the first Weyl semimetal has been discovered in an inversion-breaking, stoichiometric solid TaAs. So far, the TaAs class remains the only Weyl semimetal available in real materials. To facilitate the transition of Weyl semimetals from the realm of purely theoretical interest to the realm of experimental studies and device applications, it is of crucial importance to identify other robust candidates that are experimentally feasible to be realized. In this paper, we propose such a Weyl semimetal candidate in an inversion-breaking, stoichiometric compound strontium silicide, SrSi2, with many new and novel properties that are distinct from TaAs. We show that SrSi2 is a Weyl semimetal even without spin-orbit coupling and that, after the inclusion of spin-orbit coupling, two Weyl fermions stick together forming an exotic double Weyl fermion with quadratic dispersions and a higher chiral charge of ±2. Moreover, we find that the Weyl nodes with opposite charges are located at different energies due to the absence of mirror symmetry in SrSi2, paving the way for the realization of the chiral magnetic effect. Our systematic results not only identify a much-needed robust Weyl semimetal candidate but also open the door to new topological Weyl physics that is not possible in TaAs.

Non-symmorphic crystals are generating great interest as they are commonly found in quantum materials, like iron-based superconductors, heavy-fermion compounds, and topological semimetals. A new type of surface state, a floating band, was recently discovered in the nodal-line semimetal ZrSiSe, but also exists in many non-symmorphic crystals. Little is known about its physical properties. Here, we employ scanning tunneling microscopy to measure the quasiparticle interference of the floating band state on ZrSiSe (001) surface and discover rotational symmetry breaking interference, healing effect and half-missing-type anomalous Umklapp scattering. Using simulation and theoretical analysis we establish that the phenomena are characteristic properties of a floating band surface state. Moreover, we uncover that the half-missing Umklapp process is derived from the glide mirror symmetry, thus identify a non-symmorphic effect on quasiparticle interferences. Our results may pave a way towards potential new applications of nanoelectronics., A new type of surface state has recently been reported in ZrSiSe but its physical properties remain unclear. Here, Zhu, Chang, Huang, et al. report rotational symmetry breaking, healing effect and anomalous Umklapp scattering arising from the nonsymmorphic effect of the floating band state on ZrSiSe (001) surface.

The charge density wave (CDW) in 1T-TiSe2 accompanied by the periodic lattice distortion has a nontrivial symmetry configuration. The symmetry is important as an indication of the mechanism and a cue for experimental probes. We examine the symmetry of the system and clear up the connection of electronic structures between the normal and the CDW states. Especially, we unravel the consequential irreducible representations (IRs) of electronic states and, more ahead, those of gap functions among bands when the CDW occurs. Normally symmetry-related topology will be achieved directly, so we assert that the theory is valuable and practical for the search of topological CDW insulators., 13 pages, 5 figures

Topological crystalline insulators (TCI) are insulating electronic phases of matter with nontrivial topology originating from crystalline symmetries. Recent theoretical advances have provided powerful guidelines to search for TCIs in real materials. Using density functional theory, we identify a class of new TCI states in the tetragonal lattice of the Ca$_2$As material family. On both top and side surfaces, we observe topological surface states protected independently by rotational and mirror symmetries. We show that a particular lattice distortion can single out the newly proposed topological protection by the rotational symmetry. As a result, the Dirac points of the topological surface states are moved to generic locations in momentum space away from any high symmetry lines. Such topological surface states have not been seen before. Moreover, the other family members, including Ca$_2$Sb, Ca$_2$Bi and Sr$_2$Sb, feature different topological surface states due to their distinct topological invariants. We thus further propose topological phase transitions in the pseudo-binary systems such as (Ca$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$)$_2$As and Ca$_2$As$_x$Sb$_{1-x}$. Our work reveals rich and exotic TCI physics across the Ca$_2$As family of materials, and suggests the feasibility of materials database search methods to discover new TCIs., 5 pages, 4 figures

We propose that the quasi-one-dimensional molybdenum selenide compound Tl2-xMo6Se6 is a time-reversal-invariant topological superconductor induced by inter-sublattice pairing, even in the absence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC). No noticeable change in superconductivity is observed in Tl-deficient (0

Weyl semimetals are novel topological conductors that host Weyl fermions as emergent quasiparticles. In this Rapid Communication, we propose a new type of Weyl semimetal state that breaks both time-reversal symmetry and inversion symmetry in the $R\mathrm{AlGe}$ ($R=\mathrm{rare}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{earth}$) family. Compared to previous predictions of magnetic Weyl semimetal candidates, the prediction of Weyl nodes in $R\mathrm{AlGe}$ is more robust and less dependent on the details of the magnetism because the Weyl nodes are generated already by the inversion breaking and the ferromagnetism acts as a simple Zeeman coupling that shifts the Weyl nodes in $k$ space. Moreover, $R\mathrm{AlGe}$ offers remarkable tunability, which covers all varieties of Weyl semimetals including type I, type II, inversion breaking, and time-reversal breaking, depending on a suitable choice of the rare-earth elements. Furthermore, the unique noncentrosymmetric and ferromagnetic Weyl semimetal state in $R\mathrm{AlGe}$ enables the generation of spin currents.

We study the quantum nonlinear Hall effect in two-dimensional materials with time-reversal symmetry. When only one mirror line exists, a transverse charge current occurs in second-order response to an external electric field, as a result of the Berry curvature dipole in momentum space. Candidate 2D materials to observe this effect are two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides~(TMDCs). First we use an ab initio based tight-binding approach to demonstrate that monolayer $T_d$-stricture TMDCs exhibit a finite Berry curvature dipole. In the $1H$ and $1T'$ phase of TMDCs, we show the emergence of finite Berry curvature dipole with the application of strain and electrical displacement field respectively., Comment: 4 figures

When the Fermi level matches the Dirac point in graphene, the reduced charge screening can dramatically enhance electron-electron (e-e) scattering to produce a strongly interacting Dirac liquid. While the dominance of e-e scattering already leads to novel behaviors, such as electron hydrodynamic flow, further exotic phenomena have been predicted to arise specifically from the unique kinematics of e-e scattering in massless Dirac systems. Here, we use optoelectronic probes, which are highly sensitive to the kinematics of electron scattering, to uncover a giant intrinsic photocurrent response in pristine graphene. This photocurrent emerges exclusively at the charge neutrality point and vanishes abruptly at non-zero charge densities. Moreover, it is observed at places with broken reflection symmetry, and it is selectively enhanced at free graphene edges with sharp bends. Our findings reveal that the photocurrent relaxation is strongly suppressed by a drastic change of fast photocarrier kinematics in graphene when its Fermi level matches the Dirac point. The emergence of robust photocurrents in neutral Dirac materials promises new energy-harvesting functionalities and highlights intriguing electron dynamics in the optoelectronic response of Dirac fluids., Comment: Originally submitted version